“This is the NBA, man”
Joe Johnson was talking the other night about how the Hawks twice allowed Charlotte to get back in the game. He was looking down searching for the words to describe their inconsistent effort, their stagnant offense, their fickle focus . . . and then he seemed to catch himself and suddenly looked up to make his point.
“This is the NBA, man” Johnson said. “That happens.”
In other words, it’s hard to always be dominant. It’s difficult to get good opponents down and keep them there. It’s not easy to always be up. It’s impossible to go all out all the time.
Even Woody softened his assessment of the Hawks over the course of the 4-1 homestand, from “we are still trying to learn how to win at a high level” to “I couldn’t ask for anything better” when assessing the first half of the season. Both statements can be true. He will ask for more, of course. He’s the coach. The players seem to want more, too, and they should. That’s what you expect from any team looking to do something big.
But take a look at the Hawks. For all the complaints about the slow starts, the poor finishes, the silly shot selection, the lack of toughness, the short bench, etc., etc., the Hawks are in position to win their division and push the Celtics for No. 2 in the Eastern Conference. It’s been a long time since they’ve been this good. That’s something to keep in mind as the they begin a taxing week tonight at Houston.
The Hawks aren’t close to perfect, and they won’t get a chance to prove if they’re great until the postseason, but right now they are damn good. This is the NBA, man, and after 42 games that’s significant.
MC
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64 comments Add your comment
GeeMack
January 25th, 2010
2:39 pm
Astro Joe
Not sure what that means, but you and I both know talent wins in the NBA.
BONE
January 25th, 2010
3:00 pm
Big Ray the BONE who posted on here first. IS not the Real BONE. I’m the real BONE. Someone has been impersonating me man.
I didn’t type that.
JeJe
January 25th, 2010
3:14 pm
Enter your comments here
JeJe
January 25th, 2010
3:14 pm
“The Hawks might be better than everyone else in the East. They’ve only had two losing streaks this year, two games in November and four games from Dec. 30 to Jan. 4. They’ve twice won six straight and are 18-5 at home.”
From Mr. Cunningham’s article….
LOL! Better than anyone else in the East? Look at the records, buddy
Coach D
January 25th, 2010
3:14 pm
“It’s impossible to go all out all the time.”
Pay me the $ these guys are getting & I sure as hell wouldn’t say that!
When you’re out there go all out. A good coach then sees that his player is tired, takes him out, rests him & then, lo & behold he gets back in. It’s not rocket science.
Am still not totally sold on J. Johnson or Woody. If something great happens in the playoffs, count me in.
richbrave
January 25th, 2010
3:19 pm
doc:
For those of you still interested, JAVARIS CRITTENTON pled guilty today to a misdemeanor, unlawful possession in D.C of a properly licensed firearm . Looks like our boy was either goaded or threatened by ARENAS into bringing a properly licensed, unloaded hand-gun into D.C. for his personal protection. The gun was not loaded at any time. The assumption is that he did carry ammunition for the firearm on his person at the time. This was evidently not admitted to. He’ll probably get off with probation or some voluntary community service work.
Daniel
January 25th, 2010
3:48 pm
richbrave- thanks for the update. Hate it for Javaris, but can’t excuse him for being punked into joining Arenas’ idiotic behavior. Hope he learns his lesson and realize he is actually a milionaire and doesn’t have to try to impress anyone.
O'Brien
January 25th, 2010
4:16 pm
You wonder if Crittenton will get picked up by another team when his contract expires. And given his run-in with Arenas, is he good enough for a team to sign and develop?
GeeMack
You’re right. Talent wins in the NBA. But teams with the highest payrolls have the best chance of affording all the talent they need, and therefore have the best chance at making it to the finals.
Ken S,
Even if the Hawks get swept in the second round of the playoffs, I would be surprised if Sund fires him. I think the Hawks performance in the playoffs will more than likely determine the length of his extension, and what kind of pay raise does he get, but not whether or not he is retained.
If the Hawks get swept, maybe he only gets a 1 year extension. But if the Hawks make it to the conference finals, he might get a 3-4 year extension.
RA
January 25th, 2010
5:13 pm
Je Je, I don’t think that you can judge the best team in the east strictly on the basis of regular season record. There are some teams in the east that even Cleveland really won’t want to see in the first round. Chicago is one, Charlotte is another. The bottomline is that you’re not going to know who the best team is in the east until the smoke clears, and it might not be who you think.
South ga boy in the atl
January 25th, 2010
7:02 pm
To northcyde and those of similar opinion (not astro Joe) lol,
I find the angst on our (Hawks fans) blog to be remarkable considering the level of play this and last year. If you drop an alien in to read this blog it would think the Hawks were 14-28 than 28-14. I have come to believe that it’s not the level of play but the limitless ?’s surrounding the team over the immediate and near future. Can we get JJ signed to a new deal? If we can sign JJ to a new deal, can we possibly keep Jamal who has helped us get to the next level and which guy is truly more valuable if financially Sund had to pick one ? Can we get Al signed to a new long term deal next yr?the whole Teague/Bibby arguments over minutes and defense ? Can Marvin reach the potential of his long term deal ? Should RandMo be developed with the idea of trading Zsa Zsa after he gains more experience ? Should Woody be re-signed and if so for how long ? Will Sund himself leave in a yr or 2 for a more glamourus job elsewhere, if the Hawks continue to play well ? And most importantly, where will the ASG (joke of an ownership) draw the cheap line in the sand. It’s my belief that because of these huge ?’s hanging over the franchise’s head we long suffering Hawks fans are worried to death that ASG will screw things up beyond belief just as we are on the precipas of reaching elite status. All true sports fans know that there are moments when a franchise can rise up to previously unthinkable levels or be smacked back down to mediocrity. And they happen so fast. Have the Mavericks recovered from losing a home game in the finals. Have the Suns recovered from Steve Nash being hip checked into press row and the Bench emptying suspensions. And with this as a backdrop we have to put our faith and hope in the ASG. Riiggghhht. Boy I feel better already. I wonder what some of you guys think of my theory
rusty
January 25th, 2010
8:09 pm
its a horrible situation,if we do well we keep woody. this team is good inspite of woody.
his iso offense & switching defense stinks,it is much more pleasant to watch a team that
plays by moveing the balll (stop wasting time with unnessary dribbling) how can every body
say he is doing such a great job when we lose to inferior teams & get blown out of games.
he subs poorly & will never develope rookies
Tweets that mention “This is the NBA, man” | Hawks Blog -- Topsy.com
January 25th, 2010
8:15 pm
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Larry Downs, BallerGeist, Rob Ross, Major League Sports, rob keating and others. rob keating said: #NBA “This is the NBA, man” http://ow.ly/16q1cw [...]
doc
January 25th, 2010
11:00 pm
gee mack i wasnt lobbying for woody’s dismissal only pointing out it is ludicrous to think there is no one else to coach this team.
richie, javaris was very naive and got played big time. arenas is a bully not a prankster. it is his mask to hide behind.
Tweets that mention “This is the NBA, man” | Hawks Blog -- Topsy.com
January 26th, 2010
5:58 am
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Michael Cunningham and Michael Cunningham, Don B. Reynolds. Don B. Reynolds said: “This is the NBA, man” | Hawks Blog http://bit.ly/6aMAZG [...]